Apple Announces 9.7-Inch iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Support, True Tone Display

[msandersen]

I can't believe how many whiners are on this board; maybe all the rumour spoilers have ruined it for them as there were no surprises. No matter how hard Apple tries, they cannot control the leaks from parts suppliers.
Personally this iPad is exactly what I've been waiting for for a long time, an iPad with great stylus support. I have an older Galaxy Note 10.1, but despite having a Wacom stylus, is pretty poor for drawing given the poor drawing and painting apps on Android, and the considerable input lag Android seem to have, which makes it frustrating to try and draw with. I rarely bother with it. The larger iPad Pro is probably better for dedicated drawing, but I also want a replacement for my more portable iPad 4.
I think the power and technology packed into this new iPad is amazing; the fact that some people are blazé or strongly negative considering it is exactly what people have been clamouring for and was expected is astonishing.
I don't care about force touch on a tablet, since I don't have it now anyway and makes more sense on a cramped phone. The camera bump is a strange design decision, far better to increase the thickness by that much and increase battery life slightly. I can't see Jobs in his heyday approving that frankly, in spite of his obsession with thinness, given how pedantic he was about design. But in the end, it is unimportant to me as I have always used a nice leather case on my iPad 4. The combination of hi-tech sleekness with the classic leather feel of a case that opens like an old book is perfect for me, regardless of how much added thickness they give.
In other words; it sounds like the perfect sketchbook and iPad 4 replacement to me, one which I've been waiting for for a long time.

 

[^^BIGMac]

Yeah, but people don't just buy tech to enjoy it. They buy it so they can feel good about themselves and they want to be able to say "look at me I have the most current iPad, iPhone etc".

Admit it bro, you were looking in the mirror when you wrote that!

 

[Ghost31]

How crazy is it....that this iPad Pro....is better than the bigger iPad Pro? Better cameras (with flash!), better cellular, and a 256GB option.

It's not that crazy that a newer iPad would be better than an older one. Why would it be? Can someone explain this to me? I'm genuinely curious why this keeps getting asked

 

[ConnYoungy]

Really wish they'd allow the Pencil with bigger iPhones

 

[Fthree]

It's a good thing they are updating the cameras because I have taken 0 pictures with my current iPad.

 

[Osty]

The iPad has opened up stress free "Post-PC" world to the majority of users, outside the tech-geek bubble.

To be honest, I'm in that tech-geek bubble and I'm starting to get sick of it. I'm tired of playing tech support for others and I'm getting to the point where I want a device where certain things are managed for me so I can get on and do the things I enjoy.

I have to wrangle Windows and Linux in work; at home I'd rather play with my kids, write stories and exercise. I love my Mac mini for heavy lifting, but for a portable device this new iPad may be everything I need.

 

[borgqueenx]

apple can keep this slightly improved ipad wich is 100 dollar more. try better next time.
and cool camera- especially with it sticking out. good job!

 

[fxmx42]

What a load of crap for 13" buyers. My god. 1.2MP front camera on that honker and then now a 5MP AND iPhone 6S camera on the back. What a load of crap and way to shaft buyers who shelled out for a 128LTE model without BAND 12 support from Tmobile - only now to realize you have a 256GB model for $20 more AND band 12 LTE support from Tmobile.

F-You Apple.

What are you talking about? Original 12.9 iPad Pro buyers bought it mostly for its artistic capabilities thanks to that screen real estate. Why on earth did you buy it?

 

[Osty]

What are you talking about? Original 12.9 iPad Pro buyers bought it mostly for its artistic capabilities thanks to that screen real estate. Why on earth did you buy it?

As @Ghost31 pointed out, a lot of people buy Apple devices to use as status objects. It's hard to crow about the 12 inch model if all you care about is 'teh specs' and don't actually use it as 1. a graphic artist and 2. productivity device like Federico over in Macstories.net.

 

[macfacts]

32GB, 4 speakers, 4GB RAM, and a9x easily add up to 100 dollar increase.

Whiner.

The ipad air 2 is now $399. The new 9.7" iPad pro is $599, that is a $200 increase.

 

[jamesjingyi]

Do like the new Cellular cover thing, looks a lot nicer than that plastic window. Don't like the fact that the cameras are so much better than the 12.9" Pro but I prefer no camera hump tbf and I don't take pictures on my tablet anyway. Kinda pissed they upped the storage though.. Ahh well. Still would get my 12.9 over the 9.7 as it's the right size for me.

 

[Tech198]

9.7 would be good for traveling..

Its getting to that stage , unless the iPad is vertical, the pencil becomes bigger than the ipad itself... They have magnets already in the iPad for the smart case/cover, so i dunno why they don't add magnets for the pencil so u can attach it to the side like the Surface book

Least u won't loose it on a smaller device.

 

[oldmacs]

Pricing is a joke... I need a 64GB iPad with 4G, which would have cost $980AUD, but now is $1350AUD for a 128GB 4G. Hopefully the iPad Air gets updated with the 4GB of ram and A9X, all I want are the specs to ensure my iPad lasts a long time, I don't need pencil support, speakers or keyboard dock support. The iPad Air 2 is too old to consider now, and the Pro 9.7 is too expensive.

 

[smoking monkey]

It's a good thing they are updating the cameras because I have taken 0 pictures with my current iPad.

I'm with you. I get that "some" people take photos/videos with their iPad, but I wonder what the percentage is??? It's obviously people who don't have an iPhone for starters, beyond that, I'm not sure. It's not just about me though...

I always use a case with the iPads so the lens doesn't bother me in terms of real world usage, although I feel for those who don't use a case.

I'd have liked a 64gig version, but oh well, 32gig it is, because I'm not paying for the 128gig version.

The 4 speakers, faster processor and more ram is a welcome addition. The ambient sensor mode is also welcome.

seems like a 7/10 for me without a hands on.

AND... let's hope no splotchy display or spine issues. That really annoyed the crappers out of me with the first air. I had to return 3 of the buggers.

 

[tf_dc]

From one side, I liked the new iPad's specs and probably will buy one, even just to support the company which tries to show that it's taking our privacy seriously.

From another side, the talk of iPads as a future of personal computing sounds quite strange, provided iOS devices without third party applications remain heavily dependent on iTunes for the most basic operations. If an iPad is my main computer, where the heck I'm supposed to run iTunes? If iTunes is not necessary, where are the apps to transfer and _manage_ photos, music and videos, a videoplayer that supports multiple formats? Ah, in the AppStore? OK... So _by default_ I still need a computer with iTunes for basic consumer activities.

Second, I hope people whose professional activities include lots of drawing can really use the new iPads for their work and be happy. My professional activities include using tabbed terminal with a lot of ssh connections to different hosts, instances of the local CLI and the ability to easily copy and paste between tabs; moving (over different protocols) and storing locally different files that can not be processed by any app on my computer, running some network services locally etc. All of these can be performed easily with a pretty weak and outdated laptop, but not the new shiny iPad. iOS is not a full-featured OS, and even if I find the apps which will cover my individual needs, using them together (keeping in mind that data exchange between apps in iOS is severely limited, for a good reason, of course) will make my work a nightmare. And my work is just one of a huge amount of professions where iOS devices are not very useful to say the least.

I like the new iPad and will probably get it as a toy and a tool for some casual activities, even professional ones when I need to do something "quick and dirty". But please, don't call it the future of personal computing or "Pro" - it's nowhere near yet.

 

[oldmacs]

I'm more concerned about the battery on this iPad... Surely they could have made it slightly thicker to avoid the camera bump and used that space for battery, as the Air 2 has sub par battery life compared to what I can get out of my iPad 2.

 

[maxsix]

An ipad will always be an ipad. It will never be a laptop or pc replacement. Who is Apple trying to convince here?

While I am certainly am not surprised, I'm still amazed by Apple’s Power over the common man and their ability to trick otherwise sensible people into believing the hype Apple spews.

 

[Traverse]

Amazon!? Why not on CL? or both even.

I don't want to deal with people on craigslist. I would rather get less money and not go through the hassle and potential fraud.

 

[iZac]

I wonder how that will affect laying the iPad on a flat surface and drawing/writing on it. #wobblegate

They'll sell little rubber feet for it for $30.

(in all seriousness, it's not a bad idea, tablets shouldn't slide around getting scratched on a hard surface anymore than a notebook.)

 

[Count Blah]

9.7 would be good for traveling..

Its getting to that stage , unless the iPad is vertical, the pencil becomes bigger than the ipad itself... They have magnets already in the iPad for the smart case/cover, so i dunno why they don't add magnets for the pencil so u can attach it to the side like the Surface book

Least u won't loose it on a smaller device.

And with 5 newtons of force, you can have your $99 pencil dislodged from your iPad, and lost.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

I really tried to be excited today but no. Just no.

More pixels, slimmer, faster, lighter, ultimate PC replacement (what?), 2x more sound (really?), new watch bands (wow)...

Just some blunt marketing talk, nothing really interesting or inspiring. Such updates should be a basic yearly thing without all the hype and cool "let me loop you in" taglines trying to make us believe it's something truly new. Just a basic update and not even a real up-to-date one. Here, enjoy a "new" product with a dumb name, old design and still missing some features other products had since last year (that's your new iPhone SE).

If you can't come up with something truly great, then just relax and do your job. Update (properly update) products on a yearly basis and show something great when you're ready. Such events only damage your image and stock.

While Apple will play these dumb games with selling limited or crippled products to its own loyal customers someone else sooner or later will take its place. Looks like they do anything possible to turn people off. Why no 3D touch? Why SE? Why raising price for iPad update? Ok, we got more speakers and something like true tone screen. CareKit is promising but I have little hopes they will turn it into a real useful thing. Apple Watch could be a bomb with sensors tracking your health, suggesting, alarming about possible issues, being a real smart assistant instead of just "get up every hour, make some steps today and here's your medal". Everything needed to build such thing is already there, it's not a sci-fi tech anymore. What is missing is a will or vision to take and assemble it all together. Someone here proposed a smart idea with EarBuds incorporating some health sensors, but it will take 100 years for Apple to even get to this idea.

I think the problem is that Siri is a search engine with limited control over the OS as a 'static' element. It's not true AI which is unfortunate. They really need to build a dynamic AI that " senses " your presence and where-ever you go, learning your patterns and likes/dislikes. Even if you walk past a coffeehouse you regularly go to, it should say " (name ) how about some coffee? You seem to go there a lot. " and then you respond back by voice " yes/no " or tap on the choices. Hell, even the front camera tech should sense you if the phone is set upright, then Siri should be interacting with you when you're walking or sitting about in the home.

You should also be able to control the entire OS by voice if need be when driving. I tried to open FB using Siri and it required using Touch ID or passcode. It should also allow you to log on social media by voice as well, or say your passcode without touching the screen. What the hell was Apple thinking?

The problem with Apple is the ' vanity ' projects they keep spending too much time on rather than the practical ones.

 

[iZac]

More graphics power than an XBOX? Are gaming consoles now in the Apple cross-hair? Sounds right to me.

More powerful than an Xbox 360 is quite a cool boast. Not to take that away from them, but it's kind of funny for a number of ways.

a) the xbox 360 was introduced 10 years ago.

b) the chipset for the 360 was based on the the IBM PPC - Alpha kits for the 360 were ... Power Mac G5s. So what Apple is telling us is that these iPads exceed the G5 - well it is slightly lighter

 

[nia820]

Finally a rose gold ipad! Don't care for the apple pencil but I'm happy about the specs jump. Kind of sad to see the 64gb gone though. That was always my go to storage option.

 

[highdough]

An ipad will always be an ipad. It will never be a laptop or pc replacement. Who is Apple trying to convince here?

My ipad air 2 is currently collecting dust on my shelf because of the 12in macbook. I don't ever use the ipad anymore

Believe it or not, not everyone thinks the same as you. I use my MacBook when I'm doing something that can't be done on the iPad, but I generally would rather use the lighter and more portable iPad. And there are lots of people that can do everything they need to do on an iPad.

These kind of comments just make me shake my head. So many people assume that everyone does everything exactly like them and can't fathom that might not be true.

 

[Traverse]

Will the current Air smart cover work with this device?